


God Complex

by RimBoomGold



Series: Red Hood [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Bodyguard AU? Yes, I had to search some gruesome shit on google for this lord help me, M/M, Making Out, Teasing, a pair of horny dudes who are kinda fucked up mentally and spiritually?, also smuttish content but I warn y'all once again : blue balls, black mask has a tiny bit of respect for women which is unheard of, existential questioning, fellas is it gay to worship another man?, i guess, no really, plus some ocs for the plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:15:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23221552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RimBoomGold/pseuds/RimBoomGold
Summary: The Red Hood has been working as a bodyguard for Roman Sionis for quite a few years, and here again as the latter goes to meet another mobster in order to buy quality weapons.Jason Todd learns many harsh truths that night, about his boss and most of all about himself.
Relationships: Roman Sionis/Jason Todd
Series: Red Hood [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1635976
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	God Complex

**Author's Note:**

> I am f i n a l l y back with this one-shot that used up all my passion and energy, I'll need to recharge a little bit after that lmao
> 
> One word about a detail ; I know many people like the red helmet look pre-rebirth, and I think it's pretty cool too, but I low-key prefer the red mask from the solo "Outlaw" series, so I picked that design for bird boy o/
> 
> That work is part of a series that is in no chronological order, I've drawn some parallels with my previous work but both are pretty independant one from another
> 
> Each time I get I new idea I write smth, I guess I wanted to do a mix between Scarface and Gaga's Bad Romance clip ya know? those mixed well in my mind so
> 
> Enjoy o/

"How many bodyguards crammed in there?"

\- Usually three." Roman answered before sipping on his glass of red wine and humming in satisfaction at the taste of it. "One of them hides a gun, the rest remains unarmed, however they switch roles within the group every time I visit her ; I would teach you how to spot someone who hides a semi-automatic handgun but I have a feeling that you don't need lessons in that area."

The rattling sound of Jason loading his own weapon echoed in the car and he couldn't help but focus on the number he had been given. "Three of them? Actually surrounding and shadowing her?" he whistled at that surprise, "Damn, she doesn't mess around."

\- That much is true." Roman took one last sip, then put the glass down on the small table in front of him, clipped to the backseat door. "Trading with her is difficult in some ways but…worth every little issues. She is not a random low-tier coke dealer, she's into good weaponry.

\- "Ms. Linda", you said… Yeah, I heard about her. Never thought I'd actually get to peek behind her curtains."

It was the name quickly heard and whispered on every corner of the southside in the last few months, although there was very little info about who or what she truly was. Some rumors said that she managed to stay comfortably hidden thanks to good relations with various local dealers, others that she had previously taken over a small part of Blüdhaven before settling in Gotham.

Either way, the fact that Jason had to come after dozens of low-level dealers for intel, such as her real name for starters, and still couldn't get anything out of them despite sporting his infamous mask remained a great proof of her abilities. To deploy men all around as discreetly as she did was uncommon, which meant that she was surrounded by either total fear or effective loyalty.

"I don't sense any fear in your voice but there's something else..." Jason eventually said as he worried about actually having to use his weapon, "...do you envy her?"

Roman sized him up from the corner of his eye, then let a slight smile show behind the hand resting on his chin.

"Perceptive. Your aim is not the only dangerous thing about you.

\- Thanks I guess...?"

He could still feel Roman's stare on him when he hid the gun in the inner pocket of his vest ; something seemed to be on his mind.

"Your whole attire is one size too small, from your shirt down to your pants." he eventually said, "A decent tailor wouldn't have been caught dead selling those. How come?

\- Didn't have the time to go buy a new tailor-made gear so I found this one. Is that a problem?" He arched an eyebrow playfully and looked right into Roman's eyes, waiting for his reply, fingers tapping on the empty middle seat between them to tempt him to lean closer and investigate further. He didn't mind the sudden attention, quite the opposite.

\- Let's see…" the other man's right arm went around his shoulders while his left hand landed softly on his chest. "...the shape is good, very form fitting, but the size is really not on point." Roman said as he stuck his thumb between the vest and the red shirt underneath, then slid it down a bit too slowly, carefully across the fabric.The outdoor road lamps passing by only casted a dim light into the car, yet Jason did not take his eyes off the wandering thumb, biting his lip discreetly in the dark when he felt the finger's trail across his chest. 

They both remained quiet as Roman stretched the piece of cloth to the extreme, before letting it snap right back on the chest with a sharp sound, leaving a light sting of burning pain that really shouldn't feel that good on one's skin. "A coke addicted stripper on rent day wouldn't wear anything this tight. Very inappropriate for a professional setting."

\- Well, I didn't have much of a choice to be honest, only one available." Jason quickly glanced up at the partition separating the driver's area from theirs, and found himself grateful to see it being completely closed, "Don't you even want to know how I got it?

\- Does it matter?" Roman asked while his other hand had gone from his shoulder to his hair, stroking it mindlessly out of habit.

The silence fell in again, then Jason decided to break it :

"If you're asking me this, then you've not been paying enough attention." He leaned in even closer, close enough for Roman to catch the scent on his neck.

\- What a pleasant smell, since when do you wear cologne too, Todd? Trying to play in the big men's league?"

\- It's a bit funny 'cause I've never worn cologne in my life, actually. But the dude I stole the outfit from, on the other hand…he wore it _all_ over him." he paused to let the realization sink in. "Truly a nice smell."

The look he received back was a slightly confused one at first, then finally a gleam appeared in his boss's eyes ; the grip on his hair tightened, yanking slightly but firmly his head back. The hold on his scalp was quite weak, at least weak enough to be easily escaped from at will, but he didn't move a muscle ; a taste for shameless curiosity had won him over.

"Now tell me, pretty boy," Roman said, his voice raspy due to the excitement in it, "you're sitting right here next to me giving off the smell of another man's cologne, so naturally, I'm wondering why." Jason's field of view remained mainly stuck on the car ceiling ; he could only feel Roman's free hand brushing against his exposed throat, fingertips soft on his Adam's apple as they slid down towards the first button of his shirt.

"Why is his cologne lingering all over your skin?

\- We've been close.

\- How close?" His fingers started fiddling with the button.

\- You know what, old man? We bake big rainbow cakes together and we're getting engaged on the beach this sund-

The soft palm tensed up, grabbed the side of his collar and ripped it open harshly, making the button pop off the shirt and fall down somewhere under the seats.

"I don't have time nor patience for this foolery...You get another try."

The very thought of his own body being so sharply, carelessly put on display sent Jason's mind on overdrive when Roman's knuckles skimmed over his exposed collarbones ; from it came a physical desire to feel the eager hands take whatever they pleased of him, to be at their disposal, but it was a bit too soon to let it get to him so deeply.

The only response Jason's admittedly over-inflated ego found was to tease him beyond reason, because why not? He had been taught by the man himself that getting people to be irrational molded them into whatever one needed them to be.

"What do you think? We've been fucking, just like this." he whispered against the other's ear, his thighs spreading open ever so slightly and hips rocking forward, inviting him once again.

Roman noticed the move, not without some excitement on his part, put his hand on his inner thigh then slid it up very close to his crotch, driving the other mad, before asking :

"Who is he?"

\- Why?" Jason smirked, "You're jealous?"

Within the following seconds came a sudden wave of pleasure crossing his crotch, forcing a moan out from the back of his throat when he felt the palm cupping and squeezing his half-hard cock under his pants.

"God, the things I would do to you if we had time, just to tame that sinful behaviour of yours." Roman grunted against his cheek.

\- Let's do this, right now," Jason said, "who cares about her gun sales? We don't need to go tonight.

\- You think so?

\- Yes.

\- Then tell me exactly what you want." Roman's voice had gotten deeper, his grasp in the hair tighter, "I can give you anything you desire, pretty boy."

Through the years prior to their first meeting the man and his first job with him, Jason had yet to cross paths with anybody that fascinated, attracted him as much as Roman, because the latter walked the earth and talked to everyone like he wanted no less than the world in his hands. He had met terrible, brutal people in his field, but Roman's sociopathic charm and handsome features gave those flaws an appeal that has been difficult to resist and that had made him break moral rules one after the other. With one little addictive whisper and touch at a time Roman had lured him to his side, had resonated with a need in Jason's mind to learn how to control his field to his advantage like he did. Within that man lied a power that he would never really be able to turn away from as much as he should.

"You know what I want...

\- Say it."

At first Jason's pride didn't want to give in, he bit his lower lip to keep his mouth shut until the words finally escaped it :

"Fuck me.."

Roman kissed him softly at first, then more fiercely, forcing him to lie down across the three back seats' full length. Jason gripped his shoulders under his suit and shirt, craving to feel the other's skin and on his.

"Take those off."

  
\- One step at a time...first, tell me something else. How did he feel inside you?

He lifted his knee and pressed it between Jason's legs, right against his cock, the bittersweet pressure on his crotch making him groan. Jason didn't answer since his reason had gotten blurry, its focus being on the hands lowering his pants down on his thighs and the soft lips skimming over his throat.

  
"Did he feel as good as I do?" 

  
\- No." Jason whispered quickly as he unbuttoned the other's shirt then brought him closer just as fast for a rushed kiss. Then, without any warning, Roman pinned him back down on the back seat, looking at him straight in the eyes :

  
"Who does?"

  
-...Nobody.

  
A subtle but victorious smile stretched on Roman's face ; his black eyes, that conveyed every word he didn't bother saying, always caught Jason's full attention too easily. He took the younger man's chin between the pad of his thumb and index finger, lifting his head very slightly.

  
"Then you shouldn't have done it with a nobody."

  
He let out a sigh of satisfaction as he sat back up, buttoned up his own shirt while leaving Jason to stare at the ceiling for a while and process the sudden shift in mood. His senses were already missing Roman's proximity, the warm air around him had gone way colder and the familiar musky scent under his nose was fading. That was when the realization hit him :

"I can't believe you gave me the bluest balls ever as a revenge for that one dude," he said as a half-joke, "I can't believe you did _that_."

Roman chuckled then swiftly ran his fingers through his own tousled hair, a move that showcased the long scar that went across the side of his head.

"Flattery won't lead me to help you with your inconvenient excitement, instead you should focus on fixing up your appearance, we're reaching our destination." he answered, tugging on Jason's messed up shirt collar. He then playfully tapped the back of his hand on his cheek before adding :

"We wouldn't want the lady to think that I don't take care of what's mine, would we?"

  


  


  


  
They had been standing in Ms.Linda's massive yard for what felt like an eternity, facing the stairs of the equally large house from which she was meant to emerge anytime soon. Leaning against the car, Jason played mindlessly with red mask in his hands, taking pleasure in comparing the mansion to the one that an old, broody and frankly asocial friend of his had inherited in Gotham's hills.

He then glanced at Roman standing next to him, who seemed to be deep in his thoughts to pass the time, and checked him out from head to toe, the part of him that remained unsatisfied wishing to hold him close again. He sighed out of boredom, or rather frustration, and put his mask on eventually.

"What about you? You're not hiding your face?" 

\- She knows what I look like and vice versa. She would only agree to trade on those terms, the "If one falls, the other too" method." Roman answered.

\- Forcing loyalty against law enforcement... bold but smart move."

Jason took a look around as well as he could in the late evening dark through his night vision lenses. In the center of the yard stood a ten feet tall stone statue depicting what must've been a divinity holding a lightning bolt, neatly highlighted from above by lamps surrounding it. 

"A religious one, huh?" he scoffed, "Interesting, since God seems to have abandoned this city like a dead snitch floating on a river."

His statement had piqued Roman's interest, seeing as he drew closer to the statue, watching it intently :

"You would be surprised by the nature of religious worshiping, Todd. I can tell you from experience that not all, but a certain breed of believers don't really want to be saved by any kind of higher force, they simply need a scapegoat to justify their actions."

\- ...What about you? Don't you need a scapegoat to cope with all of your... "questionable" actions?"

\- I understand that some circumstances may lead people to do it, I really do, but I'm not one of those who bask in the delusional mindset that is the worship of someone or something." He paused, then his full attention drifted to Jason :

"Are you?"

The cold wind blast going through the yard shook the leaves on nearby trees, carrying out the unanswered question along when the sound of heels echoed from inside the house.

"She's coming. I expect you to behave in front of the lady, big boy." Roman added with an annoying snark as he fixed his black suit up.

\- You know me or what? Everything's gonna go smoothly."

The door opened on a tall, formally dressed man, followed by a black woman that must've been in her early thirties, showing a warm wide smile which clashed with her emotionless stare. The bodyguards, who surprisingly enough were only two, remained at the entrance and watched over her while she walked down the stairs. 

"It's a pleasure to see you again, I was looking forward to that." Roman said once she had reached them, taking her hand in his to kiss it, an old-fashioned uppity habit whose utility Jason would never understand.

\- Likewise. I beg your pardon for my lateness, I had to get everything ready for this encounter." She hadn't grown up in the city or in the country for that matter ; her accent sounded foreign.

\- Don't worry about this detail, we were almost not going to make it on time either. By the way, I should introduce you to my friend here, however given his history in the city I don't think that would be necessary."

\- Indeed… the Red Hood." she said as she looked at him, slightly curious and highly intimidating. There was no way she didn't know about him sniffing around in her corner of the city, breaking fingers and ankles during interrogations for intel about her ; he nodded politely in her direction but remained silent. "Anyway, whatever the reason of your rushed timing was..." she paused and glanced down at the missing button on his shirt "...I'm sure it must've been a good one. Now, please follow me."

Jason cursed himself mentally for having allowed their little trashy party to look so obvious on his outfit, however he managed to use her long, formal greetings as an opportunity to study the two men behind her at the top of the stairs. One of them, the one wearing glasses, had acted different since they arrived, more watchful than his peer.

"So, in your opinion, which one would you say is carrying a gun?" Roman asked when she had already walked back up far enough for her not to hear them.

\- Four-eyes is the one who's packing, he's been acting sketchy and he's the one who placed himself where he could've shot both of us down without having her in his angle.

\- Jackpot. Let's go see her offer and then get out of here."

The clear blue wallpapers and spacious design made the place look even bigger from the inside, and empty in a haunting way, the kind of emptiness that the numerous paintings hung on the walls didn't really fill. While going through the large main hallway, Jason watched the whole group carefully from behind, keeping an eye on her henchmen but also on her small frame under her loose dress. She couldn't weight more than a teenage girl on a diet and he even noticed, after a short while, that she was slightly limping. She wasn't dangerous or even threatening at all physically, an unfair weakness often taken advantage of that made him wonder for a split second whether she belonged in such a vicious business.

Compared to the rest of the house, walking into the living room turnt out to be a whole new experience ; a good handful of carvings filled up the space around the low coffee table, ranging from homemade plant pots to small statues molded in clay ; she was without a doubt an artist, and judging by the amount of different pieces, a pretty dedicated one at that.

"Please take a seat." Linda said and did so herself, followed by her bodyguards who rounded the table to go stand behind her chair. "I hope the new look of the place suits your taste, I've replaced some of the old paintings with new colorful ones straight from Nigeria, american artistic trends were becoming too depressing for me." She snapped her fingers at one of her goons, the bald one, who pulled out a small golden box from his pocket and handed it over to her.

"I see that bad habits get worse when you're homesick." Roman said as he sat down, mildly amused, watching her open the box to take the lighter and one of the joints inside. Jason went and stood behind his leather seat, slightly to the side for full visibility of the room.

\- So it seems." she lit up the joint with a swift move then took a puff. "It doesn't help that the cannabis some of your boys sell is pretty much top-tier, congratulations on that by the way. Wish to try it out?" she extended her thin arm over the table to pass it but he shook his head. "Well then, let's get down to it."

She snapped her fingers once again, making Four-eyes leave the living room to go fetch a large black suitcase in the hallway that he lied down on the table once he returned.

"These are unloaded samples of the best Blüdhaven has to offer this year. Smuggling such pieces from that -excuse my language- shithole was not as easy as I thought it would be." she said after opening the suitcase, pointing at the three handguns neatly showcased in velvet before taking another puff of smoke. 

Roman picked up one of them, then another, compared the weight and feel of each as an habit even though he was never the one using them ; he did it for Jason, who peeked over his shoulder like a restless kid on christmas morning, impressed by the quality and the design of her semi-automatic pistols.

"How much for one of these with fifty ammunitions?

\- Each piece is two hundred dollars, I'm feeling generous on this nice evening." 

Roman clenched his jaw as he pondered the suspiciously cheap offer :

\- We're used to talk about much higher prices, I must admit that I'm quite unsettled by this."

She chuckled as if he had said something strange :

"Then I must reassure you right now, there is a clear reason for this. I intended to keep the price at a steady three hundred until I saw that you came with your friend here," her eyes darkened behind the smoke, "Red Hood." 

Jason frowned at her hostile tone and behaviour, then a vague bad feeling settled in his nerves.

"See, I am what you would call a leader, in the strict sense of the word. Much like Athena for the ancient Greeks, nigerian mythology has a god of justice, Amahodia, the one showcased in front of this house. While many of us don't believe he ever existed, we believe in the principle of leadership he represents, cultivated for centuries in our home country." One of the bodyguards behind her nodded upon hearing her statement.

"The principle to provide for, guide and most of all protect my men, thus the undying loyalty I get in return." she added as she straightened up in her chair, "And all your boy has been doing in the last few weeks is threatening them, crippling them left and right for the sole selfish purpose of getting some pointless informations about me. Including one of my three closest bodyguards that should've been with us today had he not been badly injured." she paused to crush the rest of the joint on the table with a little more strength than needed.

"You will understand that I really cannot tolerate such disrespect, so to compensate for your future loss I'm giving you a nice offer on this trade."

Not a word was spoken for a while as if her sentence had removed all sound in the room, but Roman had gotten unmistakably tense, seeing as he repeatedly opened and closed his fist in order to ease the muscles of his hand. "My future loss?" he quoted slowly with a crack in his voice, the one that appeared when he tried his hardest to conceal his confusion.

Jason felt the pressure building up and kept staring at Four-eyes behind his mask, knowing it would only be a matter of time before the latter would try to do something stupid.

She leaned back in her seat and snapped her fingers a third time :

"Shoot the vigilante down." 

A violent impulse crossed Jason as he pulled out his own weapon. It was only after he and Four-eyes both quickly took aim at each other that he became aware of the severity of the situation ; only one of the henchmen seemed to be armed, as expected, but both Roman and him were still outnumbered and standing on enemy grounds. Four-eyes hadn't pulled the trigger yet, probably shocked to see that his target was packing a gun as well and had it locked on him. A primal fear seemed to warn every nerve in Jason's body, making his heart race and his arms shiver ; he eventually managed to control it and spoke his first words to her :

"You don't know what you're doing and what I can do. How about you quit this bullshit?

\- Oh, so he talks?" she spat, her lips pursed ; she was clearly annoyed to find out he was carrying a weapon.

Roman hadn't said a word, he only glared back and forth between her and her armed bodyguard, studying them, teeth grinding in his jaw which was a striking sign that he had something in mind. He sighed deeply, closed his eyes for a brief moment, and something vicious gleamed in them when they opened again.

"You," he said when he tilted his head towards the goon, "For how long have you had feelings for her?"

The bodyguard's eyes widened :

\- What are you talking about?" he muttered, while the grip on his gun loosened up a tiny bit, part of his focus having shifted towards Roman.

_A distraction._

Jason aimed at the throat and shot him down, making him clutch on his windpipe wound before landing heavily on the floor face first, trying if only to catch a breath through the shock despite the critical injury.

"No!" Linda screeched as she rushed to his side and knelt down in the blood that had started pouring between his fingers. The bald one did not lose time and tried to get the gun his peer had dropped, but Jason pulled the trigger again and the bullet crossed the man's abdomen, leading him to fall harshly on his back and cry in pain.

She was crouching between the two of them, each trembling hand on their respective wounds as she tried to stop the bleeding in vain, and only then did she lift her head towards Jason.

"You." she snarled at him with a furious, broken voice. Her eyes fell on her henchman's gun lying three feet away, but Jason was already aiming at her, preventing her from reaching out and grab it. Instead, she slowly stood up and lifted her head high before speaking again : 

"If you're really willing to kill me as well, don't hesitate."

From Jason's perspective, time seemed to have slowed down, the space had shrunk all around the five of them. He couldn't think clearly enough, haunted by the wretched sounds of the henchmen's failed attempts to breathe correctly. Although he kept his gun locked on her, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger.

"You should shoot her too." Roman said as he stood up from his chair and walked up to him, "Did she hesitate before trying to lead you to a certain death?"

\- I...can't, we don't touch women where I'm from." 

Roman frowned at him in disbelief :

"The Red Hood can't shoot a mobster who crossed him? She clearly has a code of honor, don't insult her with your pity."

She simply stood there and hadn't said anything, the fear clearly winning her over judging by her light shivering, but a glimpse of relief showed on her face when she heard Roman's sentence, a noble death was probably better than to survive those she swore to protect.

"It's just...not fair.

\- Give me that. I'll show you what happens where I'm from."

Jason gave him the gun and before he could regret his decision, she cried awfully as she fell backwards, blood dripping down from her mouth onto her hair, her wide eyes fixed on the the ceiling as her core muscles convulsed under the pain ; Roman had shot her twice in the chest.

"Here, take it back, I don't like using those myself…" he said, staring at her in a strange mix of sadness and disgust when he put the gun in Jason's palm.

\- Damn, how could you-

\- Don't bother fronting with me," Roman cut him off dryly, "you may be skilled enough to fool a good soul, but I know what street-raised boys like you really are, what you all dream about when hidden from prying eyes. Not justice nor righteousness, what were those good for? you've never even been shown any of that mercy when you needed it the most."

For the first time since they had met, Jason didn't dare lifting his head up to meet the other's eyes and acknowledge the words he was being told.

"But power," he added as he drew closer despite the lack of answer, pointing at the weapon, "now that was the language that everyone understood because you didn't give them a choice, power was freedom to you when you wielded it, am I wrong?"

Jason's grip on the gun handle was so tight that it made his knuckles hurt, yet he kept holding on the cold metal since the familiar sensation turnt out to be too comforting to let go. There was something unpleasant in that fact, and downright disturbing in the other man's voice, something that sounded harsh, cynical, but ultimately true.

"And since I really like you and your lovely little ass, I will give you this piece of advice as a gift : don't ever give anyone the opportunity to end you. Stomp on their chest the moment they're even thinking about it, no matter how harmless they make themselves look. And for the love of whatever is in heaven, end them after they tried once, _especially_ because they tried in the first place. I'm asking you this once again : this limping frail lady even hesitate before attempting to blow your brains out? She was never going to show you the mercy you were ready to treat her with. I did this for you to begin to grasp how things work in the world of people who have a higher body count than you could ever imagine, stick this in your pretty little head and you could have that world in your hands, Todd. Believe me." 

Jason had listened carefully, but was still trying to process the whole situation.

"What now?"

\- Clean up this mess," Roman answered, "trash bags for the bodies, bleach for the floor and all that jazz. I'll be waiting outside in the front yard, when you're done you can either come join me or take the back door, everything is up to you." He turned around, walked right past the men's seemingly lifeless bodies until he reached Linda's, and looked down at her dying eyes.

"Quite disappointing, all of this."

He left them all behind quickly after.

There it was again, the smell of blood oozing from the fresh corpses, every single time, like a nagging reminder of how disgusting death could be. Jason sighed heavily when he forced himself to cross the distance between him and the pile of bodies, where he squatted down and reached out to feel her pulse, still hoping the gunshots hadn't been fatal, that at least one of them could survive the bloodbath.

The second his fingers touched the side of her throat, her eyelids snapped open and she quickly gasped for air, then grabbed his wrist and gathered all her remaining strength to hiss between her barely parted lips :

"Don't you dare touch me, you worthless little bastard."

Jason didn't answer anything at first, didn't even move a bit. But the scorn in her last three words hit him hard, had seemingly triggered something in his mind, causing him to stare blankly past her as if she and everything else around had disappeared.

_"My bread! Thief! Come back here you little bastard!"_

_"Stop crying, bastard. I told you, anything beyond the old north road is our territory, cross our boundaries again and my boys here will break two more fingers."_

_"Tell the lieutenant we couldn't get anything out of this kid, he's twelve and already "loyal" to that gang down in the south side. He's pretty much worthless."_

  
The whole living room had once again gone painfully silent when he finally withdrew his palm, stood back up while taking his mask off, aimed the gun at her face then pulled the trigger. He couldn't bring himself to feel guilty when he heard the deafening gunshot and saw the bullet cross her skull.

"As you wish." he said in a flat, defeated tone, then left the room without even wanting to look back. He thought about calling an acquaintance to come clean everything up, the simple sight of it all was too much to bear. He dragged himself through the hallway, his shoes leaving bloody prints on the floor, his gun heavy in his hand but it didn't really matter anymore. There was only one thing left in his mind when he opened the huge door and stepped outside, like a recurring, strangely comforting thought that pushed away the weight of everything that had just happened.

"Ah, so you _did_ come back, big boy."

There it was.

Roman was leaning against the infamous statue, taking a puff from a cigarette before letting some of the ashes fall at the bottom of the lamps around him. They casted a bright light on top of his head, highlighting the scar engraved in his brown hair and darkening his face in contrast, making nothing but his piercing stare on Jason stand out on it. The latter walked down the stairs, aware that his every move were being studied, not out of distrust but rather out of what he suspected was an unhealthy curiosity. After having crossed what must've been twenty long feet and reaching him, Jason's shoulders dropped as he let out a light sigh of relief.

"I heard one last gunshot, which one did you finish off?" Roman asked before taking another long drag on the cigarette, then lifted his free hand from his pocket to go cup the nape of Jason's neck. It rested there, tight and warm on his skin as always, so familiar that he allowed himself to close his eyes for a few seconds and take the time the revel in it. He answered only after opening them again and coming back to reality :

-The gunshot was for her."

Roman scoffed and raised his head towards the sky:

"A part of me didn't think you would do it..." he said as one of his fingers stroke his neck, "...but here you are." He looked back down at him.

Jason caught himself hanging on his every word, gazing at every detail on his face under the bright lights, and realized that no one had ever looked at him that way. It wasn't the fear he inspired in corner dealers as soon as they felt his presence, or the contempt of the common citizen in Roman's eyes. The latter looked positive, satisfied, something that seemed dangerously close to tenderness but obviously wasn't ; narcissists like him could only truly love themselves and what others did for them, expecting anything else was delusional.

"These guys...I should've shot them in the head to make it fast and painless, but everything caught me so off-guard and I missed…I never fucking miss...and her..." he said while the fresh memory of the hole on her forehead popped up in his mind. Her death was far from the first one he had witnessed, and not the first one he had caused either, however every person he killed was always able to put up a fair fight. That mindset was ingrained in every group of teen boys roaming the streets since puberty. "... I shouldn't have shot her, but the things she said, man. I couldn't care less afterwards." 

Roman blew some smoke out and casually checked the rest of his cigarette when he asked :

"How did it feel to crush her after that?

\- ...Good...powerful." He admitted after a painful hesitation. 

\- That is all you need to know." 

He tossed the cigarette butt somewhere in the short-mown grass and slid his palm off Jason's neck, leaving it unpleasantly cold under the fresh night air. "The driver is waiting, come." 

Jason watched him take one last long look at the statue then stroll down the driveway towards the car. As for himself, he felt like his feet were stuck on the ground, where the lights from the house behind him met the concrete and shaped his shadow. He averted his gaze to avoid the sight of it and his eyes fell on the landscape of the city over the horizon, more precisely the south side, a specific part he would recognize anywhere.

"Todd." Roman interrupted his trail of thoughts, his arm resting on top of the open car door.

-Yeah, I'm coming."

  


  


**Author's Note:**

> I just gotta say english isn't my first language so please forgive me for grammatical and vocabulary mistakes
> 
> Peace xo


End file.
